My Brother Was Taken by the River
My parents always said the world had no sympathy for the weak.
So from the moment my younger brother and I could walk, they put us through what they called the 'Strong Child Program.'
At five years old, we had to run five kilometers every day. If we could not finish, we were not allowed to eat.
At seven, my brother broke his arm. My parents refused to let the doctors use anesthesia, saying enduring pain was a lesson every strong person had to learn.
At nine, I burned with a 104℉ fever. Instead of taking me to the hospital, they wiped my body with ice water and forced me to endure it because 'sick children grow stronger immunity.'
Then, on the first day of summer vacation, my father announced this year's special training:
We were going to learn to swim in the Roaring Spine River.
No life jackets. No safety gear.
"You only learn after choking on water a few times," my father said.
But my brother choked over a hundred times and still could not swim.
I desperately swam toward him, trying to pull him back to shore, but somehow the distance between us only kept growing.
I called my father, screaming for help, begging him to call emergency services.
But after listening to me, he only snorted coldly.
"Who learns swimming without swallowing some water?
"Your brother isn't made of paper.
"Stop yelling and focus on learning to swim."
But by then, my brother had already been swept away by the current…